


Take My Hand

by NogitsuneShadow



Series: 100 Themes Challenge [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Self Confidence Issues, Sterek if you squint, character death mentioned but not in detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 18:52:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NogitsuneShadow/pseuds/NogitsuneShadow
Summary: Derek is struggling with Erica and Boyd being gone. He's unstable as an Alpha with half of his pack gone and the other people around him don't feel like pack. When he's running himself on empty he feels like he's never going to get his two betas back. Leave it to Stiles to pop in and shed some light on the situation.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I missed any tags. If you have self worth/confidence issues please find someone to talk to. I write to vent my emotions because if I don't it would destroy me. It's my way to cope. All of you are amazing and strong and so important. Take care of yourselves. Feel free to message me if you need a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold.
> 
> I've always loved the scene where Stiles has a hand on Derek's shoulder. I like to think that something like this happened prior. On that note I'm unsure of the actual timeline so it's probably inaccurate. Didn't research it to find out and this hasn't been beta read.
> 
> This is "Comfort" for the third installment to my 100 Themes Challenge. Finally. I am going to get to work on adding to that number ASAP. Promise. I got through this pretty quick it's just starting is my issue. If you have an idea or a prompt in general feel free to toss me a comment. Toss a comment or kudos anyway because they make Derek feel better.

Derek was running on fumes and he knew it. He wanted to keep looking but he didn’t know where else to try and he was so wired that his focus was all over the place.

He didn’t know how long it has been since Erica and Boyd had been taken or how long he had been looking. All he knew was that it felt like an eternity.

It was his fault that they were gone. He’d bitten them and brought them into his hell. They might have agreed but that wasn’t enough of an excuse for him. Nothing would be. An Alpha protected their pack. All he’d done was break bones and growl. In the moment it felt like the only way to protect them. They needed to know how to defend themselves.

Knowing that all that training and pain had been good for nothing made him wish that he had done things differently. He wasn’t made to be an Alpha. Derek missed his mother not just because it was his mother but because having a suitable Alpha made things so much easier. He’d taken that away from himself too with Kate.

Derek heard his howl of frustration vibrate off the walls of the loft. His hand throbbed and he growled when he had to set his fingers in place for them to heal. He was running out of time but he didn’t know where to look. It felt like he had combed over every inch of Beacon Hills twice. For all he knew they weren’t still in town. They could be dead.

Derek was about to punch the wall again but felt a hand graze over his raised fist. He let out a feral growl and turned around to pin the enemy to the wall. A familiar yelp had him loosening his hold over the vulnerable neck, but the claws wouldn’t recede. He hadn’t even heard anyone come in.

“Stiles..?”

Stiles gave nervous hint of a smile, almost nodding but the claws were right against his neck so the movement was quickly aborted.

Derek let out a shaky breath and slowly moved his hand away before letting it fall limp at his side.

“Hey, Big guy… Try not to eat me, okay?” Stiles murmured with a soft, half forced laugh. His go-to for self-defense was always sarcasm and humor so it wasn’t surprising but Derek hated making someone else uncomfortable around him. Not that they had ever been close.

Derek could see the human’s hands shaking though it was barely there. It was so hard to tell when Stiles was naturally always moving. He collapsed onto the couch and ducked his head to put it in his hands. “Did you find anything?”

“I found you.” Stiles heard the soft growl of protest and held his hands up in surrender even though Derek wasn’t looking but he still sensed the movement. “I'm not trying to be funny. I’ve been looking for you.”

“You shouldn’t be looking for me. You should be looking for them.” Derek growled out before realizing that he’d just told himself he wanted to be a better Alpha. It didn’t matter. Most of his pack was gone and no one wanted to be around him by choice. He doubted Stiles even thought of him as his Alpha. Scott certainly didn’t.

“Derek.” Stiles murmured softly, stepping forward to gently pull one of Derek’s hands away. It came back bloody and had Derek frowning. “I need you to breathe.”

Derek laughed in disbelief. “I am breathing. For all I know Erica and Boyd aren’t. Stop feeling obligated to be here. I’m not the one that matters.”

By the end of it Derek was looking Stiles straight in the eyes and there was a ringing in his ears. He must have yelled at him. Again. That was all he seemed to do. He was either too quiet or he yelled. He didn’t want Stiles afraid of him.

Surprisingly enough he didn’t smell fear on the human. There were nerves but no fear. He frowned and opened his mouth but closed it again.

“Don’t be a sourwolf about this. I know you’re upset and I know you feel like you’re useless. I feel like that all the damn time. I can’t keep up with you guys. I don’t have super healing time. I can’t hear and smell what you do, can’t sprint across town without collapsing.

But I do what I can. I drive people around, I hack into the sheriff’s office, I research for days running on nothing but coffee until I pass out…”

Stiles looked down and Derek caught a new scent, frowning when he realized that Stiles was upset.

“I do what I can. I try to keep you guys safe. I mean… I’m not a wolf. I know that. And I don’t know where humans fit in a pack, if they do at all, but I like to think that I fill a role that makes it so I contribute. Even though Scott doesn’t think of you as his Alpha this is his pack. It’s my pack. Our pack. And you’re the Alpha. My Alpha.”

Derek watched Stiles run his fingers delicately over his fingers. The soft digits went over his claws, which was a terrible idea, but he didn’t smell blood. His claws actually ended up going down. Somehow Stiles had managed to calm him down and the proud little smile that Stiles was trying to hide by ducking his head warmed something in Derek.

“You matter. I’ll say that every time I see you if I have to until you believe it. Are you a perfect Alpha? No but you know what? It’s impossible to be perfect. I think you’re a good Alpha, Derek. You’re keeping us safe the only way you know how.”

Stiles shifted to kneel in front of Derek on the floor, still keeping a loose grip on his hand. The human ran cold compared to him and it was nice, feeling the hand curl around his own.

“I’m no-”

“No.” Stiles cut in quickly.

“No..?” Derek’s brows furrowed and Stiles sighed quietly.

“You can’t keep knocking yourself down.” Stiles sat up on his knees so they were about the same height and he tilted his head to bare his neck.

Derek felt the low growl reverberating in his chest at the sight. He made a quiet growl of protest when Stiles’ free hand went to the back of his neck. The hold was firm but not uncomfortable. He moved when Stiles pulled him to his neck and he burrowed into the crook of it.

Stiles smelled like an emotional cocktail. Underneath that he smelled like books, Adderall--though not as much as he should--, coffee, ozone after a lightning storm, and cinnamon. He’d always loved the hint of cinnamon. It reminded him of better times.

“I knew you needed this...even if you’d never ask for it.” Stiles murmured quietly into Derek’s hair. Derek felt Stiles fingers move to card through his hair and slowly the tension bled out of him.

“There we go… You’re doing great, Alpha.” Stiles praised.

Derek relaxed at the praise almost as much as he did from the contact. Everything besides Stiles seemed to fade out of his mind. It was blissfully blank and he didn’t want it to stop.

He didn’t know how long they stayed like that but eventually Stiles broke the silence. The human’s voice was so soft that it didn’t ruin the calm running through him.

“Can you do something for me, Der?”

Derek nodded slightly, more nuzzling at Stiles’ neck than anything. He felt the shift in Stiles’ shoulders from a held back laugh.

“Stand up for me so we can get you up to bed.” Stiles said as he gently moved Derek’s head back.

Derek whined quietly but didn’t try to push back in like he wanted to. He stood quickly so he could help Stiles up. The human’s knees were shaky from resting his entire weight on them for so long.

Seeing Stiles’ smile had him making a small one to match. Derek let Stiles grab his hand to lead him to bed. He sat down when Stiles gestured for him to after the sheets were pulled down and he glanced up at the other.

“Cool. So I’m exhausted and so are you. We’re going to nap and then when we wake up we can have a snack and get back to work. Come back to things with a new perspective.” Stiles suggested and Derek was on board with that. He watched Stiles turn to leave and whined before he could think better of it.

“What? Get comfortable and get some sleep, Der.”

“Stay.” Derek murmured, worried that he’d refuse.

“I’m not going anywhere. Just the couch.” Stiles assured, brows furrowing when Derek whined again. “You gotta talk to me.”

Derek frowned at that. He hated talking. Expressing himself was difficult and he always did a terrible job. He was quiet, yelled or a mixture of the two. He let out a heavy breath before glancing back at the sheets. “Sleep with me.”

“I’m a clinger in my sleep.” Stiles murmured in protest.

“Please?” It seemed that one simple word was all Stiles needed. Derek watched him take his shoes and hoodie off before climbing on top of the covers.

Derek huffed and kicked off his shoes, jacket and shirt. He ran hot so he typically slept in the nude but he knew that wouldn’t go over well, even if he kept his boxers on.

“Don’t you need your pillow?”

“I’m fine.”

“You weren’t planning on sleeping, were you?” Derek murmured with a frown. He could see Stiles consider lying to him but he was pleasantly surprised by the shake of his head.

Derek pulled the covers out from under Stiles and shifted to lie on his side. Stiles hesitated for a few moments before lying down as well. 

Not being completely buried in Stiles’ scent and being distracted by long fingers had him slowly remembering Boyd and Erica. He knew it was important but Stiles was right. They needed to recharge. If he wasn’t at a hundred percent than he couldn’t save them from the Alpha pack.

“Thank you.” Derek murmured in the dark, eyes down on the sheets.

“Don’t mention it.”

“Stiles...if I can’t deflect than neither can you.” Derek heard Stiles huff and smiled a little.

“Yes sir mister Alpha sir.” Stiles murmured with a small smile of his own. He shifted to roll onto his back and tilted his head again in offering.

Derek let out a quiet growl of approval at the title because Stiles wasn’t teasing him for a change. He shifted closer to nose at the pale skin that was offered to him and relaxed again.

“I mean it. I- I needed this. Thank you.” Derek whispered into Stiles’ neck. It was so much easier to admit when he didn’t have to look at him, when he felt like he could breathe properly for the first time since he’d become an Alpha.

Long fingers curled around his wrist and before Derek knew it his arm was draped over Stiles’ waist. “I’m cold,” was his only excuse and Derek didn’t have it in him to call the human out on it. Stiles was giving him an out. So he didn’t have to ask for something.

Derek relaxed and was quiet for a long time before he had the courage to say something. “You are pack. We’d be a mess without you. Especially me.”

Stiles kept him on his toes, gave him a way to vent, and was kind when he needed it. He didn’t know why he ever thought Stiles might not be pack. Derek could feel the warm pull of a pack bond and sighed in content.

Stiles was giving him everything he needed, everything he missed about having a proper pack. It helped that Stiles called him out on things just like it was sometimes good that Stiles didn’t call him out on things. The human didn’t get nearly enough credit. Stiles payed attention and tried to get everyone what they needed.

“Thanks. I um… I needed that too.” Stiles admitted shyly but Derek could smell how happy he was.

Derek felt stable for the first time since becoming an Alpha and as he fell asleep he felt like maybe things would change for the better.

\----------

When Derek had been forced to kill Boyd he felt like his entire world was crumbling. Stiles’ hand was on his shoulder and it didn’t make the pain go away but it made him know that he would get through it. It was a grounding point that he desperately needed. Stiles believed in him so he needed to believe in himself. He focused on the pack bond connecting them and let out a deep breath, eyes flashing blood red.

It was time to be the Alpha.


End file.
